Quebec's policy of favoring French-speaking immigrants has been like a welcome mat to thousands of francophone Muslims from countries like Morocco, Algeria and Lebanon who now call Montreal home. But some believe the Charter of Quebec Values tabled in the National Assembly last week will do just the opposite; its ban on the wearing of religious symbols by public sector workers discouraging not only Muslim immigrants, but others who will see it as a sign of intolerance toward minorities or of an unstable social climate.
Jean-François Lisée, the minister in charge of the Montreal region, said he believes the charter will eventually prove an asset to Quebec's immigration program, attracting "moderate" members of various religions who want to live in a secular state. He said, "Immigrants who have been coming here for the past several years have to sign a declaration in which it is written that Quebec is a secular state.
"I think there are a lot of people from Maghreb and Lebanon and elsewhere who choose Quebec because it is a secular society. If we send a message that here in Quebec we take secularism seriously, we will have moderate Muslims, moderate Christians, and moderate Sikhs, who say 'I like my religion a lot at home, but I like a secular state,' and Quebec is a progressive state that sends that message." |